Views sought in drive to improve rented housing
RESIDENTS, landlords and businesses in Charnwood are being invited to give their views on the proposed conditions for two licensing schemes for private landlords.
Charnwood Borough Council consulted on the Additional and Selective licensing schemes last year and their implementation was approved by Cabinet in December 2020. Now the council is now asking people to have a say on the conditions which will be attached to each licence.
Additional Licensing is for any house in multiple occupation (HMO) which does not already hold a mandatory licence. It will require HMO landlords not covered by the mandatory scheme to apply for a licence. This scheme will cover all HMOs occupied by three or four unrelated persons and buildings converted into self-contained flats where they are occupied by tenants.
Selective Licensing focuses on privately rented accommodation within a designated area and aims to improve standards. The scheme, which will be introduced in the Hastings and Lemyngton wards in Loughborough, has mandatory requirements for all landlords operating within a designated area to licence their property.
Conditions relate to gas and electrical safety, smoke alarms and storage and disposal of household waste.
In addition, the council can attach local conditions to licences. These include requirements relating to energy performance, security, property management and dealing with anti-social behaviour.
The conditions for each licence will last for five years.
Landlords will be responsible for paying for the licence and any income generated from the fees will only be used to cover the scheme’s running costs.
The online consultations on the scheme are now open and will run until February 26, 2021.
Cllr Paul Mercer, lead member for private housing, said: “We were pleased with the number of positive responses we received to the previous consultations and now we want people’s views on the conditions attached to each licence. “The conditions relate to the management of the property and will help improve issues around poorly-managed properties.
“We have many good landlords in Charnwood who care about their tenants and understand their responsibilities. But we also have some properties which are poorly managed and have an adverse impact on the local community. The conditions for the licensing schemes will help address such issues.
“This consultation will give residents, landlords and local businesses a chance to find out more about the mandatory and local conditions and offer their views.
“I would encourage them to read the draft licence conditions and complete the online survey.”
Councils can introduce licensing under the Housing Act 2004, to address issues including poor property conditions, significant anti-social behaviour, migration, high levels of deprivation or high levels of crime.
For more information about each licensing scheme and to take part in the online consultations on the conditions visit www.charnwood. gov.uk/pslc